“God can’t forgive my mom.” These were the words that Ryan told his team leader Erik amidst his frustration and confusion as to why his mother had inflicted abuse and anguish within his young life.
Erik took this as an opportunity to share the Gospel with Ryan. Ryan shared that he couldn’t wrap his head around how there could only be one God—how could one God do it all? Didn’t God need many other gods to help him do everything that God does? And, Ryan believed his mom had sinned so bad that there was no way that God could ever forgive his mom.
Erik was prepared for these tough questions because he was equipped with the resources and tools he needed to handle situations such as this during the two week training period that all our staff undergoes at the beginning of summer that shapes and develops them to be trained leaders and how to handle difficult conversations, anger situations and stories of abuse and neglect.
Erik began to tell of who God is, how much He loves Ryan’s mom and how much He loves Ryan too! Erik got to explain how there is one God, one Jesus Christ and how He loves to be a refuge to them that seek Him.
This is the first time that Ryan had ever heard that his mom could be forgiven, that one God can really run the whole world and that God above loved him more than anyone else ever could.
So many of the youth that we serve here have never been told the story of the Gospel. So many of them have never been equipped with educational skills on how to be a good leader, how to get and keep a job, how to give back to those around them and how to love others.
We are privileged to be able to share love with the children that we serve. And, we are so thankful for donors like you that continue to make all of this possible.
Next week, due to the fourth of July holiday, we will not have children on site going through our programming. However, at the end of the week, our staff will be participating in a leadership retreat to refresh and re-equip them with encouragement and guidance to navigate through the remainder of our summer programming season.
We value your ongoing prayers and support during our summer programming season and year-round!
Thank you.